Culture, Youth and Suicide in the Pacific: Papers from an East-West Center Conference

Abstract

In recent years there has been increasing recognition that health in all its aspects is linked intricately with -lifestyle," that general rubric for the oocial, Qlltural and econanic realities that bear on individlal behavior and well-being.By contr ast, mental health research, and suicide studies in particular, have recognized the imp:>rtance of these broad social influences for at least a century.Yet only in the past few years has the study of suicide gained high priority anong public health officials in the United States, and renains little recognized in less developed countries.HCMever, recent sharp increases in youth suicide in certain parts of the Pacif ic have drawn public attention to suicide as an imp:>rtant societal problan.'!his vollJIle, then, presents a unique and timely look at suicide in all its social and cultural aspects, seen in the context of major changes affecting Pacific societies today.'!he papers in this vollJIle were first prepared for a conference on "Cul ture, Youth and suicide in the Pacif ic held at the East-west Center, Septenber 10-14, 1984.The conference was organized to provide a canparative, regional assessnent of suicide in selected Pacif ic Island societiesparticularly in light of recent epidenic increases in parts of Micronesia and Western Sanoa.'!hese papers, drawn fran such diverse perspectives as anthropology and SOCiology, psychiatry and medicine, and canmunity developnent, denonstrate the need for canplanentary multi-disciplinary approaches to problans as canplex as suicide.'!he Pacific is a culturally diverse region of snall, rapidly changing societies, and these papers reflect that diversity.In parts of the Pacific, notably Western Samoa and same Micronesian areas, suicide recently has increased in an unusual, epidenic-like fashion, as documented in the chapters l BCMles and Rubinstein.SUicide has even becane the primary cause of mortality anong some age groups.lmong other Pacific cultures, such as the Melanesian oocieties discussed l Akin and Poole, high suicide rates appear traditionally endenic.'!he objectives of the confermce were, first of all, to assenble and assess available information on suicide in the Pacif ic; secondly, to discuss the oocial meanings and cultural patterns of Pacific suicide, particularly in the context of oocial change; and thirdly, to explore prevention strategies for